1. Field of the Disclosure
The present invention relates to printing, and, more particularly, to image processing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image capture systems are used in a variety of applications. Such systems may be combined in an all-in-one unit that includes image capture, image formation, and facsimile functions. Image capture systems may also be independent and only capable of performing an image capture function. Digital photograph technology has progressed with imaging units now able to produce high quality two dimensional images in a single step process. The imaging units are also economical allowing them to be utilized in new applications, such as document scanning technology.
Conventional image capture systems utilizing digital photograph technology include a single light source that illuminates a scan surface and a camera that captures an image of the scan surface. Micro structures in the scan surface may cause salt and pepper noise, such as spikes, speckles or random specular reflection to be captured by the camera. One of the conventional techniques to remove salt and pepper noise is a median filter. A disadvantage of this technique, however, is blurring of images because known filter methods fail to determine whether the pixel to be corrected is noisy. This is due in part to the fact that it may be difficult to distinguish noise from image feature.
Accordingly, it will be appreciated that an image capture system that reduces specular reflection or speckles is desired.